Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

It is so easy to become unhappy.  It is so easy to center on what you don’t have.  I have to center on the multiple blessings I have been given:  food, shelter, a loving wife.  Humans have the capacity to want things they don’t have.  It only makes me unhappy.  For the rest of the Christmas season and New Year I will thank the Lord for the many blessings I have been given.  There is so much I have to thank the Lord for.  I will think about those things the rest of the year.

Tags: blessings, Christmas, count your blessings, food and shelter, God, gratitude, it is so easy to become unhappy, loving wife, multiple blessings, New Year, thank God, thank the Lord
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It is easier to spend less than to make more.  Your money goes further.  There is no end of desiring more and more.  Less not more.  Being satisfied with what you have is the trick.  There is a reason thou shall not covet is one of the ten commandments.  There is no end to coveting.  You want more and more the more you have.  It is just easier to be satisfied with the portion the Lord has given you.  And there is less and more from the beginning of the ages.  And the commercials you see on TV feed on that desire:  you have to have this.  You have to have that.  A bigger car.  A bigger house.  A bigger TV.  The list is endless.  Then you will be happy.  It is all lies.  There is an end to this:  just be happy with what you got.  And thank the Lord for all his provisions.  Give us our daily bread.  That should be your prayer: give us today what I need.  Our essentials.  That is it.

Tags: avarice, be happy with what you have, bigger car, bigger house, bigger TV, coveting, coveting is one of the ten commandments, desiring more and more, God, less not more, money, our daily bread, our essentials, spend less, ten commandments, thank the Lord, the list is endless, the Lord, thou shall not covet, TV commercials, your prayer
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It was a meal fit for a king:  my wife cut a large chunk of rye bread and grabbed a Macintosh apple and gave them to me on my way out.  I had to eat something.  I thank the Lord for this meal.  The rye bread was deliciously crusty and the apple, extremely crisp, was very tasty.  Usually about once a year you can find them that way.  Yes, I ate my meal on the run but silently thanked God for this “feast”.  He often gives you more than you deserve (and abundantly).

Tags: abundantly, feast, God, He gives abundantly, Macintosh apple, meal, meal fit for a king, more than you deserve, my wife, rye bread, thank the Lord
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Joy is gratitude.  It is looking at your life and every aspect of it and thanking the Lord for every simple thing He has given you.  Sometimes it is others you need to give a simple “thank you”.  God works through other people all the time.  Don’t take any gift you have for granted.  As well as all the simple pleasures that come your way.  Joy is gratitude and thanking the Lord for the simplest gifts He has given you.  He has given your life.  And every morning you wake up you need to thank Him for every breath you take.  Get in the habit of thanking others and the Almighty for every single gift.  Life is composed of myriad details.  And prayerfully thank someone for every detail of your life–every pleasure-every thing.  He does not owe you anything.  And He usually gives us abundance.  Don’t be an ungrateful taker.  Thank Him for every detail of your life.  Joy will always follow gratitude.

Tags: abundance, be grateful, every breath, gifts, God, gratutude, joy, joy is gratitude, Lord, prayer, simple gifts, take for granted, thank Him, thank the Lord, thank-you, thanking others, The Almighty, your life
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It is only 66 degrees outside today and praise the Lord for it.  It is only a week ago we had a short heatwave–temperatures in the 90’s and it was quite uncomfortable.  It was hard even sleeping when it was that warm so I am thanking the Almighty for his “gifts” when they come along.  So thank the Lord for all the small gifts that come along.  This was just one.

Tags: God, God's gifts, heatwave, His gifts, June, praise the Lord, sleep, thank the Lord, thanking the Almighty
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I want to get up slowly (when I can).  First, I may throw some sweat pants on, make coffee and wake up gradually.  I don’t always have that privilege, but most times I do.  The dogs always want to go out in the yard immediately and are not shy about it.

I often get up before my wife although that is not always the case.  If she is still sleeping I try to walk around quietly.  I make sure our “menagerie” has food and water.

After I am sufficiently “coffeed up” and I am awake I start looking around and figuring out what tasks need my attention.

Before that though, if my “muse” is telling me to write or edit, I obey it, then return to my duties.

Before all that, after I am fully alert I may do a quick devotional and sometimes find myself thanking the Lord for all bounties.  This often happens spontaneously.

My wife may have some requests for tasks that need my attention.  At some point, I check our postal box and peruse our mail, being careful to put our bills in the proper file.

In the afternoon, I sometimes have appointments to go to (usually doctor’s or blood work).  This is typically my routine.

Tags: bills, blood test, bounty, daily mail, daily tasks, doctor appointment, feed the cats, feed the dogs, God, lab work, let the dogs out, morning coffee, morning devotional, my "muse", my daily routine, my duties, my wife, pets, post office box, thank the Lord, wake up slowly, writing
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I have to thank the Lord for every day, every dusk that comes my way, every dawn. Each day is a gift and we are meant to enjoy each one afforded to us.

No one knows how many days they will have. Sometimes the ending comes abruptly and when you least expected it and other timesit come slowly. There is no easy path to death.

When I learned that a kidney transplant is considered a treatment, not a cure and the life expectancy after that is maybe a dozen years, death became a reality.

I have to learn to face each day expectantly and with wonder. After all, it is a gift and meant to be enjoyed.

I can’t live my life in fear. Somehow I have to banish the fear of death and learn to live each day with gratitude. There is no other way, that makes sense anyway.

Tags: banish fear of death, can't live my life in fear, death, each day is a gift, enjoy each day, face each day expectantly, face each day with wonder, God, gratitude, kidney transplant, live each day with gratitude, thank God for every dawn, thank God for every day, thank God for every dusk, thank the Lord
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Why you should not count the days until…  You miss too much.  You can’t focus on the now.  You can but you have to be very careful you do not lose the moment, what is happening right in front of you.

Your best times are always now so look around, pay attention.  Enjoy your present situation.  It will only come once.  Then it is gone forever.

Don’t be like the ostrich whose neck is buried in the ground.  Soak in the present moment fully.  If you want to visualize a better future fine but don’t miss the present.  You may find out the future you have put off never comes.  So don’t count your days until…

The best time of your life is now.  Thank the Lord for today.  It is all you have.  You have to thank the Almighty for every breath He gives you and not take your days for granted.

Tags: best times, don't count the days, enjoy, every breath, focus on the now, future, God, look around, lose the moment, neck buried in the ground, ostrich, pay attention, right in front of you, take your days for granted, thank the Lord, The Almighty, the present, this moment, today is all you have, your life
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Life is hard.  There is no way to get around that.  In fact, if you resist that fact and rail at the powers to be how hard your life has become, it only gets worse.  ‘Life is difficult!’ in the words of Scott Peck in his book, “The Road Less Traveled.”

Accept what is and at least you are not fighting against yourself.  Gain what control you possess and then rest.

This might make it a little easier.  On a continuum of 1 to ten on how well your life is going 50 per cent of the time it is under 5 and fifty per cent is better than 5.  Most of the time everything evens out.  Maybe that is no consolation when your life feels miserable.

It never does any good to compare your life to others.  Thank the Lord for all the good times as well as your bad times.

Solving problems is what makes every day interesting and gives you a reason to get up every morning.  Life can be hard, so what.  Meet your challenges.

Tags: accept what is, bad times, consolation, continuum, control what you can, don't compare yourself, don't fight yourself, God, good times, gratitude, life feels miserable, life is hard, M. Scott Peck, meet challenges, reason to get up in the morning, rest, solving problems, thank the Lord, the Lord, The Road Less Traveled
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I was lying in bed and thinking as I was trying to fall asleep.  I must thank the Lord for everything–even this comfortable bed and pillows I am resting my head on.

Everything Is by grace.  There is no way around that.  You can think otherwise but it is futile.  You can rail how unfair life is but that is futile, too.

Less is always more.  And God does not owe us anything and everything we have is by the grace of God.  Life is never fair:  some people have more and some people have less.  The poor are always among us.  The war on poverty–a campaign by Lyndon Johnson, the president of the United States, in the late sixties was a failure.

It is true each person has to help the other in any way you can but the poor will always be among us.  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Being poor sometimes forces us to rely on God for our provisions.  Money can insulate us from God.

There is the illusion we can provide for ourselves when we have enough money but that is only an illusion.  We need one another.  No man is an island, the famous words of John Donne.

It is far easier to lead your life with thankfulness.  Gratitude is a blessing and each person needs to reach out to others in any way they can.  In fact, in the Bible it say that if it is in your power to help someone and do not you have committed a sin.

I have to count my blessings each day.  My wife is only here by serendipity.  My attitude of thankfulness for the provisions of the Almighty gives me grace that I can not earn.  And everything is by grace.

Tags: attitude of thankfulness, bed and pillows, Bible, blessed, blessed are the poor in spirit, count my blessings, everything-is-by-grace, God, God does not owe us anything, God's Word, grace of God, gratitude, help others, John Donne, less is more, life is not fair, life-is-unfair, Lyndon Johnson, money, my wife, no man is an island, poor, poverty, president, provisions, reach out to others, rely on God, serendipity, sin, sleep, thank the Lord, thank the Lord for everything, thankful, The Almighty, the Lord, the poor always among us, war on poverty
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